Xi Jinping Talks Agriculture in Iowa, Shipping in L.A.

Extending his visit to the top U.S. soybean- and corn-growing state of Iowa, Xi and Chinese Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu met with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Des Moines to kick off what was billed as the first-ever U.S.-China Agricultural Symposium.

Xi, China’s vice president, then traveled to a nearby 4,000-acres soybean and corn farm, his last Iowa stop before heading west to Los Angeles to close out his U.S. visit with a brisk tour of the city’s port — the U.S. gateway for everything from electronics to clothing from China.

Visiting the family farm of Rick and Martha Kimberley, Xi peppered the fifth-generation farmers with questions about crop prices, marketing and finances.

“This is away from the sound and the fury of the cities, and the air here is very fresh,” said Xi, whose first visit to the United States was an Iowa farm study tour and homestay in 1985.

From Iowa,Xi flew to Los Angeleswhere he met with Governor Jerry Brown and L.A. Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa, and visited the port. From the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Xi made brief remarks at the side of the ship, saying he was “excited” to see the port and the green technology.

The port’s development and China Shipping are “a solid foundation for continued U.S. and China trade and continued economic cooperation,” he said, according to a translation from a Reuters reporter.

Mr. Xi’s visit to Los Angeles is highly choreographed and largely symbolic. Still, the two-day trip, which includes a dinner with Vice President Joe Biden on Friday and possibly a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game, is kindling the hopes of a region that sees much of its economic future linked to China, a powerhouse on track to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest economy.